Tuesday, February 16, 2010

NEWS FROM COSTA COMMUNICATIONS

From Costa Communications:-

“SOMETHIN’S COMIN’ MY WAY” FOR THE SOUNDTRACK

FROM THE HIT FILM PRECIOUS

Singer/songwriter Dan Manjovi’s “Somethin’s Comin’ My Way” is featured on the soundtrack and in the Oscar-nominated Lionsgate film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. Manjovi wrote “Somethin’s Comin’ My Way” at the request of the film’s director, Lee Daniels, whose previous films include Monster’s Ball (producer), Shadowboxer and The Woodsman.

After the director spoke Manjovi about the film and his ideas for how music would be used, Daniels’ directive to the songwriter was to “create a song of hope.”

“After reading the screenplay, I thought about how Precious Jones admires these strong iconic African-American women such as Harriet Tubman, and the first line – ‘on my mind Tina Turner’ came into my head,” explains Manjovi. “After that, I knew I had the song.”

“Somethin’s Comin’ My Way” was included in its demo form for the film’s premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. After Precious took the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and was optioned by Lionsgate with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry as co-executive producers, “Somethin’s Comin My Way” was re-recorded for both the film and the soundtrack. The current version was also arranged and produced by Manjovi, and the featured vocal performance is by Grace Hightower, who is the only artist to appear on the soundtrack and in the film.

Featured alongside powerhouse artists such as Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and Labelle, the track packs an emotional wallop in this story of triumph over adversity. The soundtrack has been released by Matriarch/Geffen Records in association with Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment, Lionsgate, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. The soundtrack is executive produced by Lee Daniels and Mary J. Blige and is currently available in stores and on iTunes.

The New York native is a favorite on the New York club scene. In addition to two independent CD releases, Manjovi recently completed the romantic musical comedy I Am, I Will, I Do for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics. The video for his song, “Things’ll Get Better” was voted Video of the Year for the 2009 Voters Choice Awards on QNation FM and the song is featured on United For The Ride, Volume 1 CD.

David Byrne of The Windy City Times cheers, “Manjovi has a knack for penning pop pleasures, coming across as a hybrid of Elton John, Dave Matthews and Kenny Loggins.” Joe Siegel from Edge publications states that Manjovi’s music is “designed to soothe the spirit and make you think more closely about the world we live in. Manjovi has scored a major success on both counts.”

Manjovi’s formal education includes Music Composition at The Julliard School and Music Performance at N.Y.U.

As a musician, Dan Manjovi performs annually at New York’s Piano in the Park Concert Series in Bryant Park and at leading venues such as the Bitter End, the Canal Room and the Sidewalk Café. In 2006 his band appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival/ASCAP Music Lounge with John Mayer, Nellie McKay and Elvis Costello.